Mental health is Trending.

In 2022 alone, there were 19 separate mental health awareness days, as well as Mental Health Awareness month in May.

But does mental health still suffer from lack of awareness? Or are we just plastering over deeper issues with hashtags and billboards?

Worse, by telling people all the time about mental health issues without offering solutions, are we creating our own perverse pressure on their wellbeing?

People know society has a mental health problem. People know that the NHS has incredibly long waiting lists. People know that social media is fuelling a medical epidemic.

What they don’t know is how to help.

We must go further than merely acknowledging mental health; we need action.

It’s time we gave people the tools to tackle the root causes of the problem.

We need to post symptoms, therapy links, share our own stories. We need to help society understand that yes, “it’s good to talk” - but only if the other person knows how to listen.

There needs to be action, but there also needs to be humanity. The conversation needs to be more inclusive and educational, less misleading and patronising.

Maybe society needs to crack the ice front of the pressure that comes alongside ‘the conversation’ and just start ‘a conversation’ instead.

Emma then used this essay as a springboard for a creative response to brief